András Sándor Kocsis, head of the publishers association MKKE, told Klubrádió that book publishers have survived four crises in the past 26 years without any state aid, while the banking sector and meat processors were bailed out.

If publishers carry out their threat to withdraw their books from the financially troubled Alexandra, then several publishers, printers and authors would go under, he warned.

For that reason, the MKKE is trying to limit the damage in the coming days, Kocsis said.

He said previous experience shows that if bookstores close then the lost revenue does not go to other bookstores, making the possible closure of the 56 Alexandra shops a fundamental question for the whole market.

Some Ft 7-8 billion of working capital is missing from the book market, which has been replaced by loans taken up by publishers Kocsis highlighted. Now, their credit worthiness may be questioned, he added.

Source: Hungary Around the Clock

This news item is one of many published daily by HATC, a premier subscription news service which distributes English-language info about Hungary via email or fax. For a free trial of HATC visit www.hatc.hu and click on 'Free Trial Subscription’.